Aircraft flight displays continue to advance in sophistication, achieving increasingly higher levels of information density, and consequently, presenting an increase in visual information to be perceived and understood by the operator. In many applications, it is important that visual displays provide a proper cognitive mapping between what the operator is trying to achieve and the information available to accomplish the task. As a result, such systems increasingly utilize human factor design principles in order to build instrumentation and controls that work cooperatively with human operators.
Although cockpit user interfaces have improved in recent years, additional improvements in user friendliness and ease of use of graphical flight displays are desired. For example, flight planning typically involves dynamically placed objects that do not lend themselves easily to graphical manipulation without smooth cursors. Particularly problematic for in flight route manipulation is selecting discrete objects on a graphical flight display using smooth cursors, which is especially difficult in harsh environments such as flight decks. Specifically, motion within the aircraft makes it difficult to select or manipulate a flight plan if any alterations are desired or required. Typically, when an addition or alteration is made on current interfaces with onboard flight management systems, the pilot is required to know in advance the intended input structure and pattern. This requirement for the memorization of the specific input procedures associated with each type of edit limits a pilot's ability to access the full realm of current navigation systems.
Consequently, a system and method for providing accurate and efficient graphical flight planning interface manipulation is needed.